JOURNEY TO THE WEST

JOURNEY TO THE WEST

    Price: $350.00

    Code: 2524

    Directed by Tsai Ming-liang
    2014, 56 minutes
    Purchase: $350 | Classroom rental: $125

    An immersive and transporting experience directed by Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang (Stray Dogs, Viva L'Amour), Journey to the West focuses on the figure of the Walker. A carmine-robed monk, played by Tsai’s perpetual lead actor and muse, Lee Kang-sheng, and loosely based on the life of Xuanzang, a seventh-century Buddhist monk who painstakingly traversed Asia for seventeen years in search of "the void." Moving through various landscapes, both urban and natural, with eyes downcast and palms upwards, the Walker proceeds at an excruciatingly slow, nearly imperceptible pace, his brilliant red vestments and near-stillness transfiguring the environments through which he travels.

    Subjects & Collections



    Festivals & Awards

    Official Selection, Berlin International Film Festival - Panorama
    Official Selection, Tribeca Film Festival
    Official Selection, Traverse City Film Festival
    Official Selection, San Diego Asian Film Festival


    Reviews

    "Liang’s ravishing conceptual film achieves a rare blend of sensuous delight and documentary specificity." – The New Yorker

    “A wonderfully hypnotic achievement, offering temporary respite from the perpetual acceleration of modern life and an invitation to unwind and rediscover pleasures of watching and contemplating in their purest form.” – Film Comment

    "Highly Recommended. Meditative in tone and visually arresting, Journey to the West invites viewers to pause, carefully observe, and reflect on the punishing speed at which Westerners live life. It is an excellent resource for academic libraries supporting religious studies and film studies programs. A fine choice for public libraries where interest in foreign art-house films is strong." – Educational Media Reviews Online

    Trailer


    Related Films

    STRAY DOGS
    STRAY DOGS
    A haunting masterpiece and possibly the last film from the great Tsai Ming-liang, Stray Dogs is a visually powerful work about a single father and his two young children trying to survive on the streets of Taipei. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

    close